Chapter 1656: Extinguishing the Apes

As the black wave surged towards him, Han Li's golden *fashen* above his head, its six eyes gleaming with golden light, swung down the emerald longsword it held. Han Li felt a vast tide of spiritual power surge from his body. Simultaneously, golden light swirled around the *fashen*'s form, transforming into streams of light that poured intensely into the weapon it held.

The *Fan Sheng Zhen Mo Fashen*, originally several *zhang* tall, not only shrunk by nearly half, but its seemingly solid form also instantly became unusually blurry.

The surrounding *qi* of heaven and earth violently churned, and countless five-colored runes emerged. Simultaneously, the sounds of wind and thunder intensified. The dark light mist surging through the passage seemed to encounter repulsion from a more powerful force; it first solidified, then rolled back and dispersed in all directions. As the *Xuantian* Sword, held by the golden *fashen*, descended, it seemed to absorb the surrounding *qi* of heaven and earth in a single motion, then released it with a powerful slash.

Instantly, a dazzling flash of emerald sword light appeared, as brilliant as a bolt of thunder from the Nine Heavens, illuminating everything within several *li* in an instant. Not even the dark demonic *qi* could obscure the slightest bit of this sword light.

The imposing black wave, previously surging forward, halted its advance under the sword light's illumination. The next moment, the entire space was suddenly split by an invisible force into two distinct worlds: an upper and a lower. The upper half shimmered with faint green light and churning five-colored runes, while the lower half was filled with rolling black waves and scattered, deep, flickering dark glows.

At their boundary, a piercing shriek suddenly erupted, followed by two invisible fluctuations that burst forth, sweeping across the entire space like a hurricane. Except for where Han Li and the opposing Demon Ape stood, everything else within the path of these fundamental force fluctuations was swept up and utterly annihilated, reduced to nothingness. The *Chunli Sword Array*, caught in the collision of these two fundamental forces, wildly vibrated a few times before completely disintegrating. It first reverted to its seventy-two shimmering green flying swords, which then, with a mere flash amidst the fluctuations, turned into specks of green light and vanished into dust.

Clearly, the fundamental power manifested by the emerald sword light far surpassed the might of the black wave below. The black wave could only barely resist before being utterly overwhelmed by the green light, its inherent fundamental forces collapsing and disintegrating under the superior power. The Mountain Ape *Fashen* above the Demon Ape's *Yuanshen*, which had already shrunk by more than half after delivering its initial strike, was now further affected by the fundamental power of the emerald sword light. The demonic sword it held instantly shattered. The Mountain Ape *Fashen* was then suddenly struck by the invisible force and vanished in a flash.

"A *Xuantian* Treasure... a complete *Xuantian* Treasure! This is impossible..." The Demon Ape's *yuanshen* trembled violently, engulfed in a chaotic bloody light, as it cried out in disbelief, as if witnessing the most impossible sight in this world.

However, upon seeing the faint green radiance about to engulf it, the Demon Ape instantly became terrified. A flash of spiritual light erupted from its body, transforming it into a blood-red rainbow that shot towards the main hall from which it had come. But the fleeing blood-red light had only traveled a few tens of *zhang* when the emerald sword light merely flickered, and the faint green power of heaven and earth instantly enveloped the Demon Ape's *yuanshen*.

A bizarre scene unfolded. Under the green light, the blood-red rainbow paused, revealing the Demon Ape's blood-colored form once more. It then froze, as if solidified with the surrounding space, utterly motionless. A wave of fundamental power from heaven and earth suddenly descended upon that spot. The next moment, the space within a ten-*zhang* radius around the Demon Ape was filled with continuous cracking sounds. The entire space, like a mirror, developed pale white cracks. Then, along with a tragic cry from the Demon Ape's *yuanshen* trapped within, it shattered inch by inch, like a puppet.

This Saint-tier Demon Ape perished instantly. In the void left by the shattering, a gaping dark hole appeared. The shattered fragments of the Demon Ape's *yuanshen*, along with the nearby shimmering white spatial debris, silently rotated once before being swallowed by the black hole, vanishing without a trace. The black hole then flashed with dark light once more before strangely disappearing itself. Only the purple remnant blade, now restored to its original form, remained, hovering motionlessly in the distance.

Seeing this, Han Li let out a long sigh of relief. He swiftly formed a hand seal and gently pointed at the *fashen* hovering above him. Instantly, the *Fan Sheng Zhen Mo Fashen* above his head transformed into five-colored light, then disintegrated and slowly descended. He gently shook the *Xuantian* Sword in his hand, and it instantly reverted to the form of the *Xuantian* Fruit, slowly descending from the air. Han Li flicked his sleeve, and a wave of green light swept forth, intending to collect the treasure.

However, the *Xuantian* Fruit flashed with emerald light, instantly transforming into a ball of green light that shot out. After a brief flicker, it vanished into his arm. Han Li felt a burning, unusual sensation where it entered. Startled, he quickly raised his arm, rolling his sleeve high up. On his bare arm, there was now a distinct yellow mark in the exact shape of the *Xuantian* Fruit. Moreover, this mark was quickly fading at a visible rate, eventually becoming just a faint, shallow line. Han Li's mouth twitched into a wry smile. This *Xuantian* Treasure seemed to have chosen his arm again, reattaching itself and self-sealing.

As the *Xuantian* Fruit vanished, all the celestial phenomena in the passage dissipated like foam, and the fundamental power that had permeated the surrounding space instantly disappeared. The entire passage returned to its original state, filled with churning demonic *qi*.

Han Li glanced into the distance, a blue light flashing deep within his pupils. Without a word, he raised a hand and grasped at the empty air. In the distant demonic *qi*, points of green light strangely appeared. They gathered into ten fist-sized green orbs, which, after a single spin, reverted to seventy-two small, inch-long green swords. These were the *Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords*, which had been caught in the crossfire and shattered by the fundamental force fluctuations. However, thanks to the flying swords' innate ability to revert from void, they seemed to have suffered little damage upon being restored.

With a series of *swishing* sounds, the flying swords transformed into dozens of green streaks of light that shot back. Upon reaching Han Li, they paused and materialized once more. Han Li swiftly scanned each flying sword with his divine sense several times. Only after confirming they had merely suffered a depletion of *yuanqi* and were otherwise unharmed did he let out a long breath. Forming a hand seal with both hands, he collected all the flying swords into his sleeve.

Then, Han Li gazed into the distance once more, a look of fervent desire appearing on his face, and he repeatedly pointed at the distant void. Two dark objects, one large and one small, wavered into view. They flew out from the demonic *qi* separately, reaching Han Li in just a few flashes. One was the Demon Ape's physical body, tightly encased in battle armor, and the other was a half-foot-long remnant blade.

Han Li first looked at the Demon Ape. Its face revealed that the body inside had completely turned into a desiccated corpse. The purple battle armor on the outside also seemed to have lost most of its power with the Demon Ape's demise, becoming significantly dulled. He frowned slightly, then suddenly, with a flash of his five fingers, he silently pressed his hand onto the chest of the purple battle armor. As the tips of his five fingers flashed with gray light, the tightly sealed purple armor suddenly let out a mournful cry. Amidst the flickering gray light, it abruptly disassembled into its individual components, detaching from the desiccated corpse. After a single rotation, these components transformed into several streaks of purple light that shot away in all directions. It seemed to still possess a degree of sentience.

However, Han Li had long witnessed the astonishing power of this purple battle armor, so he was not unprepared. He immediately let out a cold snort. Almost simultaneously with the purple light's departure, he suddenly flicked his sleeve. With a *thump*, a bundle of green silk shot out from his cuff. As the green light flashed and vanished, the purple lights were instantly ensnared by the spreading green silk. Then, an object flew out from Han Li's cuff with a clear chime: a *Xutian* Cauldron, about a foot tall. As its lid flew open, the green silk rolled back, forcibly collecting all the purple light into the cauldron. After the cauldron lid settled back into place, the small cauldron rotated once and hovered motionless before Han Li. With a raised eyebrow, he seemingly casually waved his sleeve, and the small cauldron mysteriously vanished.

Only then did Han Li shift his gaze, letting it fall upon the completely exposed desiccated corpse before him. This desiccated corpse had all its fur intact, but its skin had turned purplish-black, as if it had existed for an unknown number of years. Han Li's eyes flashed with cold light. He suddenly opened his mouth, and a streak of green sword *qi* shot out, striking the desiccated corpse the next instant. He appeared intent on cleaving the Demon Ape's physical body in two. But to his utter surprise, a crisp *clang* like metal striking instantly rang out. The sword light ricocheted off the shriveled body, failing to cut it open in the slightest.

Han Li was momentarily stunned. After blinking, he slowly extended a hand from his sleeve. Instantly, a flash of spiritual light appeared in his palm, and a small green sword slowly emerged. With a flick, it transformed into a foot-long blade, shimmering with green light and exuding an intimidating chill. With a mere flick of his wrist, the green longsword unceremoniously transformed into a streak of green light, piercing directly into the desiccated corpse's *dantian*. A dull *thud* sounded, this time like striking dry wood. The sword tip pierced the desiccated corpse, but it only managed to penetrate about an inch before being blocked once more.

Han Li's expression suddenly changed dramatically. The physical body of this Saint-tier Demon Ape was astonishingly tough, seemingly no weaker than his own. If he hadn't first trapped it with his sword array, and if this demon had attempted to flee, just that purple armor and formidable physical body alone would have made it incredibly difficult for him to stop. Truly a formidable being at the mid-Integration stage, incomparable to the early-Integration stage Horned Chi tribe member he had faced before. If he hadn't used a *Xuantian* Treasure, and if his opponent had been at full strength, he would certainly have had no choice but to flee for his life.

Taking a deep breath, Han Li showed no intention of stopping. His arm instantly gleamed with golden light. Simultaneously, spiritual power surged from his body, all of it pouring into the green longsword he held. Instantly, the longsword let out a clear, dragon-like chime. Then, as it radiated brilliant green light, its blade flashed with a chilling aura, slowly penetrating the desiccated corpse inch by inch. When the sword had penetrated several inches deep into the desiccated corpse's *dantian*, Han Li suddenly flicked his wrist. The sword tip buzzed as it carved out a bowl-sized circle. Immediately, the green longsword flashed and vanished into thin air. Han Li then reached out with his other hand, grasping at the desiccated corpse's *dantian*. With a *whoosh*, an object flew out from the desiccated corpse's *dantian*.